Great..... Thanksgiving. So instead of being rude and using my new phone at the dinner table, I'll be rude and not be near my family for the first part of the day.... What a dumpster fire this has become lol.

Great..... Thanksgiving. So instead of being rude and using my new phone at the dinner table, I'll be rude and not be near my family for the first part of the day.... What a dumpster fire this has become lol.

Don't you mean "I'll also" in place of "instead of"?

If all MS stores are opening early like my local one is (6am), you should be able to head out early, pick up your phone, and be back in time to make lunch.

Postpaid (Next and contract), must wait 60 days, phone must be paid in full, then can request an unlock code, takes 3 days to get after review of all criteria for unlock is met. The phone will always have AT&T branding, splash screens and get loaded with AT&T apps (which are easy to uninstall) after a hard reset, if anything like my current experience as an 8.1 user, now an Insider who has switched from AT&T to an MVNO.

I don't see any gains from buying from AT&T and sticking with them for 2+ months. They will try and charge you for a full month's service if you cancel one minute after a billing cycle ends, so make sure 60 days is met.

Edit: 60 days is from their Unlock site I tried linking above. Sounds from HoosierD that 60 days of an AT&T customer may not be necessary. Talk to AT&T, mileage may vary.

Okay, so can you clarify a bit for somebody who's never unlocked a phone...

If I walked into an AT&T store (customer or non-customer) and bought a 950, would they unlock it? Would I have to buy it out-right to get it unlocked?

Semantics: No, the store personnel won't unlock it. But a different department of AT&T will issue an unlock code if a non-AT&T customer requests it for a phone that is not linked to an AT&T account. I suspect its in response to complaints from people who buy a used phone and then find it can't be used on their carrier.

But the bottom line is you can go to a web page at AT&T.com and request an unlock code. You have to enter the device's IMEI which is usually on the outside of the box and you have to swear you are not and never were an AT&T customer. The next day, you will get the unlock code via email. Then YOU can use that code to unlock via a procedure built into any phone.

I have done this multiple times although using a different email each time just in case they flag multiples. I have never been an AT&T customer, so have no idea of their ability to verify that based on the information provided in the unlock request. In my situations, I never opened the box until I got the unlock code just in case their policy or procedure changed. That way I could return the phone no questions asked. I also never bought the phones at an AT&T store but at retailers like Best Buy or WalMart, so don't know if an AT&T store would flag that IMEI as owned by you and that the act of buying it in an AT&T store makes you an AT&T customer. So use at your own risk.

It does strike me as a practice they may have not thought all the way thru and could be subject to immediate change unless it was forced on them by the govt in response to complaints.

Note: getting it unlocked does not make it the same as a factory unlocked phone. It just means you can use it on other GSM carriers. All other disadvantages of a carrier phone still apply.

Copied from the request page:

General Requirements for All Unlock Requests

The device must be designed for use on, and locked to, the AT&T wireless network.

It must not be reported lost or stolen.

It’s not associated with fraudulent activity.

All the device’s service commitments and installment plans are completed, and all early termination fees are paid in full.

The device is not currently active on a different AT&T customer’s account.

If you performed an early upgrade, you must wait the 14-day buyer’s remorse period before you can request to unlock your previous device.

Non-AT&T Mobility Customers

You’ve never had an AT&T wireless account and you meet the General Requirements for unlock requests.

There is also fine print at the bottom saying you can't ask for more than 100 unlock codes per month! LoL

No, i believe that just means they verified my funds through Paypal because Paypal is showing order placed but payment pending, I'm taking that means when it ships then the transaction will be complete at they're end.
I'm sure it will show shipped once MS does send it..
At order history on the left where there's a arrow pull down when i checked "In Progress" that page is blank so I am past the process stage..

If all MS stores are opening early like my local one is (6am), you should be able to head out early, pick up your phone, and be back in time to make lunch.

I just called mine they told me they open at 6:00 PM that they would call me ahead of time to tell me that I can come pick up my phone (if they call me the day before they should let me get it the day be fore) anyway so I called ATT to find out what time they open and they open at 6:00 PM so I guess the whole mall opens at 6:00 PM on Thanksgiving day. Guess I will be planning my evening around Microsoft and ATT.

I just called mine they told me they open at 6:00 PM that they would call me ahead of time to tell me that I can come pick up my phone (if they call me the day before they should let me get it the day be fore) anyway so I called ATT to find out what time they open and they open at 6:00 PM so I guess the whole mall opens at 6:00 PM on Thanksgiving day. Guess I will be planning my evening around Microsoft and ATT.

I will be sitting at my parents' house with my family reading tearfully about how all of you got your phones.

I will be sitting at my parents' house with my family reading tearfully about how all of you got your phones.

Aww I feel your pain. You can live vicariously through us until you get yours. I just made arrangements with my husband on how Thanksgiving day is going to go. LOL "Arrangement" Short story we will be at the mall at 6:00 PM.

But the bottom line is you can go to a web page at AT&T.com and request an unlock code. You have to enter the device's IMEI which is usually on the outside of the box and you have to swear you are not and never were an AT&T customer. The next day, you will get the unlock code via email. Then YOU can use that code to unlock via a procedure built into any phone.

...

Note: getting it unlocked does not make it the same as a factory unlocked phone. It just means you can use it on other GSM carriers. All other disadvantages of a carrier phone still apply.

Thanks.

(I know I might get flamed but here goes. )

I've been an AT&T/Cingular/AT&T customer for a while, and have been pretty happy. A few years back when they adjusted their shared data plans, I ended up with more data for less money each month without even having to make a phone call, they just did it for me.

Other than the 'bloatware' they put on phones and taking the phone to another carrier, which I don't foresee doing, what are other disadvantages of having a carrier phone? (I can bypass carrier update lockouts by going insider with Microsoft.)

From my talk with a MS store manager today, only the unlocked 950 xl will be coming out on Nov. 26th. He made it sound like the unlocked 950 would come out later. I've emailed him and will post his reply if he does so.

Other than the 'bloatware' they put on phones and taking the phone to another carrier, which I don't foresee doing, what are other disadvantages of having a carrier phone? (I can bypass carrier update lockouts by going insider with Microsoft.)

I can't tell you the specific ones just that they will still apply. Some may not even be publicized. Some things like no Qi charging or half the memory can't be hidden but other carrier customization might not become apparent without 3rd party testing and tear-downs.

As for the Insider Program, there is NO commitment for MS to continue that indefinitely. It will only exist as long as it benefits them.

You should NEVER assume a company is doing things out of the goodness of their hearts or aren't doing something for ulterior motives.

Remember how all Lumias after a certain date would get Denim? When that became more trouble than it was worth (for MS), they simply re-branded an earlier firmware as Denim. Promise fulfilled.

Remember when all Lumias after a certain date were going to get W10? Now that is only true if you count the Insider Program. Did MS intentionally mislead customers by NOT telling them they would only be getting W10 in a form possibly never tested on their phone with no assurance it would run on said phone but only after agreeing to a laundry list of warnings including its on you if your phone is bricked? And I might add, that one day after WM10 is released, MS would not need the Insider Program to make good on the promise that customers could upgrade to WM10. If anyone didn't do it on day one, its on them, not MS.

Do I think MS will pull the plug on Insider the day after WM10 is released? No, but I also don't think it will be there any longer than it helps them more than it costs them. And I believe that (for example) if the carriers decided MS had to kill Insider for them to push Windows phones and stuck to their guns, it could be gone the next day.

I can't tell you the specific ones just that they will still apply. Some may not even be publicized. Some things like no Qi charging or half the memory can't be hidden but other carrier customization might not become apparent without 3rd party testing and tear-downs.

As for the Insider Program, there is NO commitment for MS to continue that indefinitely. It will only exist as long as it benefits them.

True points... good to consider. I might still consider an AT&T phone... I'm still thinking tho.

So now I have 3 950XL phones on order. One pre-ordered at a B&M Microsoft store. One on microsoftstore.com. And a dual-SIM 950XL from B and H. Come to think about it, I really want a dual-SIM phone because I do have 2 SIMs and using 2 different phone right now. Having a dual-SIM 950XL is huge selling point for me over other flagship phones out there. It is easier to over look the lack of apps with this feature.

I have going to start using whichever comes first, cancel the other one, and when the dual-SIM version is shipped, I will give the first one to my son. :-)